ROCK & ROLL HISTORY

The late Billy Ford of Billy & Lillie (‘Lucky Ladybug’) was born in 1926

Frankie Rodriquez (keyboards with Question Mark & The Mysterians – ’96 Tears’) is 64. He was barely 15 when his Continental Vox organ riff was the key to making ’96 Tears’ one of the first “garage band” songs to hit #1. In fact, he had turned 15 just four days before the band recorded that song.

Jimmie Fadden (guitarist/singer with The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band – ‘Mr. Bojangles’) is 67

Jeffrey Osborne (‘Love Power’ with Dionne Warwick and ‘Love Ballad’ as a member of L.T.D.) is 67

Chris Thompson (guitarist and lead singer with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – ‘Blinded By The Light’ and ‘If You Remember Me’ with Night) is 67

Robin Trower (guitarist with Procol Harum – ‘Shine On Brightly’) is 70

Trevor Burton (guitarist with The Move – ‘Blackberry Way’ and later guitarist/vocalist with Balls – ‘Fight For My Country’) is 71

Mark Lindsay (‘Arizona’ as a solo artist and lead singer with Paul Revere & The Raiders (‘Kicks’) is 73

John Cale (multi-instrumentalist with The Velvet Underground – ‘Sister Ray’) is 73

Mickey Gilley (‘Bring It On Home’) is 79

Lloyd Price (‘Stagger Lee’) is 82

1963 – Kicking off a British tour, Chris Montez and Tommy Roe were co-headliners at The Granada Cinema on Barking Road, East Ham, London. Despite the fact the Beatles had the #1 song on the British charts, they were the opening act.
The order was changed the next night. “The Beatles were getting more and more popular – unfortunately for Tommy and Chris. It was the opening night of the tour and there was a big huddled meeting after the show because the promoter said The Beatles had better close. We said, ‘No, no, Tommy and Chris close’ because they still sounded like big names to us.” … George Harrison
“I got on very well with The Beatles but Montez was always pestering them with questions about who they were and why they were so popular. You know, ‘Who are these guys, The Beatles?'” … Tommy Roe

1965 – Donovan recorded ‘To Sing For You’ and ‘Colours’.

1966 – Bob Dylan recorded ‘Temporary Like Achilles’ and ‘Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)’.

1966 – Production began on The Beach Boys’ ‘God Only Knows’ when 23 studio musicians, including the famed Wrecking Crew, recorded the instrumental backing of the song at United Western Recorders in Hollywood.

1966 – The Rolling Stones recorded ‘Stupid Girl’ and ‘Under My Thumb’. Mick Jagger found it strange that people considered ‘Under My Thumb’to be anti-women.
“The whole idea was that I was under her, she was kicking me around. So the whole idea is absurd, all I did was turn the tables around. Women took that to be against femininity where in reality I was trying to get back, you know, against being a repressed male.”

1967 – The Dave Clark Five released ‘You Got What It Takes’ / ‘Doctor Rhythm’ in the U.S.

1968 – The Doors recorded ‘Five To One’. Drummer John Densmore, fed up with Jim Morrison constantly showing up drunk for recording sessions, announced he was leaving the band but he was back within three days.

1968 – The Byrds recorded ‘You Ain’t Going Nowhere’ and ‘Hickory Wind.

1969 – Jacksonville, FL Mayor Hans Tansler canceled a scheduled concert by The Doors (due to Jim Morrison’s arrest after the infamous Miami incident) and stated that the mayors of five of Florida’s largest cities agreed with his stand against allowing questionable rock performers from ever appearing in Florida.

1972 – Carole King, James Taylor, Quincy Jones and Barbra Streisand headlined a fundraiser for presidential candidate George McGovern.

1974 – Bad Company made their concert debut.

1974 – Harry Womack (bass guitar with The Valentinos – ‘Lookin’ For A Love’) was stabbed to death in a domestic dispute. He was 28.

1976 – Keith Moon of The Who collapsed onstage at a concert at the Boston Garden.

1979 – The Eagles recorded ‘I Can’t Tell You Why’.

1981 – Robert Plant performed his first solo concert following the breakup of Led Zeppelin.

1985 – Robert ‘Bumps’ Blackwell (producer/arranger/songwriter with Little Richard) died of pneumonia at the age of 66.

1987 – U2 released ‘The Joshua Tree’ album.

1987 – Sam Cooke, John Lennon & Paul McCartney, Carole King & Gerry Goffin and Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil were all inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

1988 – Tom Sellers (music producer with Assembled Multitude – ‘Overture From Tommy’) died at the age of 39 in a house fire.
Sellers was a veteran of the Philadelphia-based band Gulliver (along with Daryl Hall of future Hall and Oates fame). Following that band’s collapse, Sellers gathered a group of studio musicians and released a cover of The Who classic. It reached #16 on the Billboard singles chart.

1989 – The crime which became known as the ‘Murder on Music Row’ took place.
Kevin Hughes, a former employee of Cash Box who had supposedly threatened to expose evidence of chart rigging by the magazine, was shot to death as he left the offices of Evergreen Records. Singer Sammy Sadler was also shot but survived. In 2002, police arrested Richard D’Antonio, a former executive at Cash Box. D’Antonio was later convicted.

1989 – The Beach Boys recorded ‘Make it Big’.

1993 – The Moody Blues released the live album, ‘A Night At Red Rocks With The Colorado Symphony Orchestra’.
The performance – recorded September 9, 1992 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado – was the first time The Moody Blues performed in concert backed by a full orchestra. The concert was held in celebration of the 25th anniversary of their ‘Days Of Future Passed’ album.

1996 – Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher walked off stage during a gig at the Vernon Valley Gorge ski resort in New Jersey because his hands were too cold to play.

1997 – 24-year old rapper Christopher ‘Notorious B.I.G.’ Wallace was shot to death after a Soul Train awards party.

1999 – Guitarist Mike Anthony, who worked with Harry Nilsson, The 5th Dimension and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, died from a heart attack at the age of 68.

2005 – Country music singer Chris LeDoux (‘Cadillac Ranch’) died of complications from liver cancer. He was 56.

2007 – Brad Delp (lead singer with Boston – ‘More Than A Feeling’) committed suicide at 55 by carbon monoxide poisoning.

2012 – Terence ‘Terry Teen’ Knutson (‘Curse Of The Hearse’) died at the age of 70 when the bicycle he was riding was hit by a tow truck.

2012 – Chester Brown (lead singer with The Counts – ‘Darling Dear’) died of natural causes at the age of 75.

2014 – Michael Jagosz (original lead singer with L.A. Guns – ‘Don’t Love Me’ before being replaced by Axl Rose) died of undisclosed causes at the age of 48.

2014 – Jerry Corbitt (lead guitar with The Youngbloods – ‘Get Together’) died from lung cancer at the age of 71.

Compiled by Ray Lemire ©2015 RayLemire.com. All Rights Reserved.
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